


Hide and Seek

by amitiel



Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, gladio x noctis, gladnoct - Freeform, noctis x gladio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25742227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: Noctis and Gladio have played their own version of Hide and Seek for years. But when Noctis is nowhere to be found in the Citadel and Ignis and Prompto aren't with him, Gladio panics and has to find him quickly.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum, gladnoct
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_PrincessCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_PrincessCat/gifts).



Noctis liked to play a game with Gladio that Gladio hated. Since he was a child, three years younger than Gladio, he had decided that it was a good idea to give Gladio the slip when they were supposed to be training. He would sometimes be found wandering the palace, sometimes in the gardens, and sometimes he would just be hiding in the locker rooms until Gladio realized it. Noctis always got a kick out of it, but Gladio never seemed to particularly enjoy it, often fuming about how he could get in trouble for losing the prince.

What Gladio didn’t tell Noctis was that after a certain age, he took notice of him in different ways. Noctis’s long eyelashes, his dark hair, his eyes a storm of passion, the natural pout of his lips. Gladio noticed it all, and he found himself wanting to seek out Noctis when they weren’t even supposed to meet up. So when Noctis would disappear as he got older and Gladio had to find him, he ended up enjoying the chase a lot more than he dared to mention.

Now that Noctis was in his twenties, the game had changed a bit more. It spanned out to the entire city of Insomnia, although Gladio always found him in just a few spots that were his typical haunts, and Ignis or Prompto were always with him. That was why when Ignis and Prompto both came up to Gladio as he arrived for training that day, a fresh worry went through him. His worry was confirmed when they told him that they couldn’t find Noctis, and he might have snuck out. 

Gladio tasked Ignis and Prompto with searching the Citadel again, a duty that they both took very seriously. If the Citadel was devoid of their prince, they would then spread out to Insomnia. The worst case scenario was that Noctis was abducted, and Gladio didn’t want to think about that. The only thing he wanted was for his prince to be safe.

_Not my prince. The prince. Get it together, Gladio._ He knew that Noctis could never be his. He watched how his own father, Clarus, had loved the king from afar after they both got married. It wasn’t uncommon for the Shield to fall in love with their charge, and Gladio had always claimed that it wouldn’t be him. But then he changed, Noctis changed, and together they became closer than he ever thought possible. 

Noctis was missing, though. It didn’t matter if he loved him or not. If Noctis was in trouble, then Gladio failed him. Even beyond being his Shield, he couldn’t stand the failure of knowing that he couldn’t protect the one person he loved. If he failed Noctis… _No. Don’t think about that. You’ll find him._

It was both a shock and yet somehow unsurprising that Gladio found Noctis rather quickly. He was at one of his typical haunts, an arcade that he often went to with Prompto whenever Ignis was wrapped up in something. Gladio had been several times with them, but there had also been times when Noctis and Prompto just went by themselves. The owner of the arcade was always helpful and made sure people kept their distance from him. But Gladio had never seen Noctis sneak out and go himself. 

Gladio found Noctis playing a typical shooting game. At first he was angry as he approached Noctis, but then he saw the tears in his eyes and knew that something had happened. Of course something happened. Noctis would just run away without one of them for no apparent reason. He would’ve at least told someone first. Still, him going out on his own was a very dangerous idea, and Gladio had to bring him home.

“Found you,” Gladio said behind him as Noctis missed his target in the game. It made several irritating noises, indicating that he had failed and for just a few more gil he’d be able to keep playing. “Care to explain? 

“I’m not in the mood, Gladio,” Noctis snapped, taking the gil out of his pocket and attempting to put it in the machine to go another round. Gladio grabbed his wrist before he could and pulled him out of the arcade, ignoring Noctis’s protests. “Let me go, Gladio! I’m not going back there!”

“Care to explain why?” Gladio growled. He released Noctis once they were in a side alley, away from prying eyes. Noctis made to walk away, but Gladio blocked his path, pinning him against the wall with his hands on either side of Noctis’s head. “I’m not letting you go until you tell me.”

“My dad wants me to start looking for a wife,” Noctis blurted out, his glaring eyes looking anywhere but at Gladio. “I told him that I wouldn’t because… because I’m gay. It didn’t go well. He said that Lucis needs a queen, and I basically have no choice. What’s the point of having a queen if I’m never going to even get it up with her to have kids and keep the line going? I mean, is it really that important if I have kids or can’t we just adopt or-”

Gladio was stunned by the admission from Noctis, but he also knew that it was only a matter of time before it happened. Noctis was the prince and he needed to have a wife. What stunned him was Noctis admitting that he was gay. Gladio always had a suspicion that he was at least bisexual, but Noctis had never even dated anyone in the past. It made sense as to why now.

Compelled, Gladio did something impulsive as Noctis ranted about how he just couldn’t do it. He pressed his lips against Noctis’s, giving into what his heart was feeling instead of what his mind was telling him. He kissed Noctis, willing him to feel what he felt, unsure if this was going to end up a disaster. 

But then Noctis was kissing him in return, his hands clenched into fists as he held onto Gladio’s shirt, as if he was trying to draw Gladio in even more. Hungrily, Gladio eagerly met Noctis’s tongue with his own, as if there was a primal desire within them that just wouldn’t go away. How did Gladio miss the desire, the need, the love between them? Or did he know it the entire time, and that was why it was so easy for him to fall in love? 

“Noctis,” Gladio said when they finally pulled away from the kiss. He pressed his forehead against Noctis’s, hunched over so he could reach him. “I don’t care who you marry. You will always have my heart. I will love you forever. I always have.”

“I love you,” Noctis replied, tears filling his eyes. “I don’t want to marry someone else. I just want you. But I can’t have that, can I?”

“You’ll always have me,” Gladio insisted before kissing Noctis lightly on the lips again, the taste of his tears leaving traces of salt on his lips. “Marry someone who understands that. If you can’t marry me, then marry someone who will let us live like we are married. I’m not giving you up. Not when I know you love me too.”

Noctis nodded while Gladio used his thumb to wipe away his prince’s tears. “I will. We’ll always have each other. I’m sorry it can’t be perfect but-”

“There is nothing you can do to change it,” Gladio interrupted. “But as long as you love me, it doesn’t matter.”

There was little else to say. Gladio knew the truth of their future, and he knew how bleak the outcome would be if Noctis ever rejected him. Now that he knew that Noctis wanted him, he also knew that he would do anything to carve a piece of happiness in their lives. He wasn’t giving up, and the shift from grief to determination in Noctis’s eyes said much the same. They wouldn’t surrender their love. They would find a way to make it work.

“Let’s go back,” Gladio encouraged him, stepping away so Noctis could move. He held out his hand for Noctis to take. “No more hide and seek.”

“I wasn’t hiding,” Noctis argued. Nevertheless he took Gladio's hand and held it tight. “Thanks for not giving up on me.”

“I never will, Noct,” Gladio encouraged him as they made their way back to the Citadel. “Next time just pick a better hiding spot.”

“I thought you said no more hide and seek,” Noctis pointed out with a devilish grin.

“And since when have you ever listened to me?” Gladio teased. They both laughed, the tension dissipating with it. Gladio supposed that while they wouldn’t get the perfect future that they wanted, he wasn’t going to give up on Noctis or on his love for him.

“You’re right,” Noctis admitted. He looked up at Gladio, the laughter on his lips turning to a smile. “I love you, Gladio.”

“I love you too, Noctis.” Gladio kissed the top of Noctis’s head when he was sure there was no one around. Life wasn’t perfect, but this felt pretty damn close.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a bday gift for the lovely Cat, so I really hope you like it dear!
> 
> Thank you all for reading. I am so grateful <3


End file.
